Ten days have passed since the death of Lekso Lashkarava, the first cameraman who was severely beaten during the violent clashes on July 5. The actings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the organized information campaign and the statements of the representatives of the Georgian Dream showed that the aim of the investigation was to rule out a connection between the brutal beating of Lekso Lashkarava and his death.
Just hours after Lexus's death, the ministry dropped a bar of hints in the news field that the cause of the tragedy might have been a drug overdose. This hasty version of the MIA had already been prepared on the basis of a narrative, circulated by pro-government and anti-Western Facebook pages.
Chronology of July 11 and the first doubts
Lekso Lashkarava died on July 11. His mother, Tinatin Kakhidze, found him in bed at dawn.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the family called 112 at 6 o'clock in the morning.
Within hours, the criminal police, despite the mother's resistance, hastily transferred the body for examination. No one explained to Lekso’s family either the need for expertise, or the procedures.
At around 11:30 a.m., the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that an investigation had been launched under the Article 115 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates inciting another person to commit suicide.
Initiating an investigation under this article is a common practice, although Lekso Lashkarava died on the sixth day after being severely beaten. Thus, many considered it more logical that the investigation would develop alongside the July 5 events.
The first briefing on Lashkarava's case was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs at 17:17. Footage at the briefing shows Lashkarava riding a moped with a friend the day before.
"At this stage, the Ministry of Internal Affairs refrains from publicizing preliminary versions, which is again in the interests of the family and the deceased. We categorically call on everyone to refrain from premature findings and await for the conclusions of the investigation," said Mamuka Chelidze
First: Chelidze said that Lashkarava and his friend were twice in Ponichala settlement, where the Ministry of Internal Affairs often conducts special operations against illegal drug trade, and therefore hinted at the purchase of drugs. He soon added that he did not want to focus on Ponichala so that no preliminary version would be voiced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Second: A POSTV reporter asked whether the investigation is considering a drug overdose version. Chelidze did not delay the confirmation.
"A forensic examination is underway and it would not be correct and professional for the investigation to talk about the overdose in advance. However, this version is also being considered, naturally," he said, adding that the causes of death would be studied in detail. Chelidze did not say anything about other versions of the investigation.
At 22:06 the Ministry of Internal Affairs spoke about Lashkarava's movements again at another briefing. New footage was added, and it was even noted that Lashkarava was apparently "not in a sober condition."
"What did you mean by these shots?" - was the first question of journalists. Chelidze referred to the public interest. He did not elaborate on how it was concluded that Lashkarava was not sober.
"As for the non-sober condition, I think it is better for you to evaluate the footage shown on the video material. Therefore, we refrain from voicing a specific version," Chelidze said.
July 12 and the so-called "Intermediate" conclusion
Another briefing was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs at nine o'clock in the evening. This time, Lashkarava's travel route was presented based on hourly chronology. However, the video footage itself did not indicate the date and time.
The agency said it had conducted more than 200 investigative acvitities, interviewed more than 100 people and seized video from 65 surveillance cameras. Investigators did so in a day and a half, when, for example, even four years after the case, they failed to restore the trajectory of the abduction of an Azerbaijani journalist, Afghan Mukhtarli, who disappeared in central Tbilisi and ended up in a Baku prison the next day.
At the July 12 briefing, Mamuka Chelidze based on the interim report said that the cause of death of the cameraman may have been a drug overdose. He listed five substances found in the body of the deceased - "morphine", "codeine", "tetrahydrocannabinol", "gabapentin" and "monoacetylmorphine" - but did not specify the amount. The "interim report" document is not public and no additional information has been provided about it.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lashkarava bought drugs with a friend, consumed them in Ortachala forest and then became incapacitated. His friend asked for Narcan (prescription medicine used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency) at one of the medical facilities, but "for some reason" could not get it and tried to assist his friend himself. According to the investigation, later Lashkarava became incapacitated for the second time, and was assisted by a friend again.
In the video surveillance camera, which, for some reason recorded the voice, it is heard that the man was asking for an emergency ambulance when entering the medical facility. It is unclear how the intoxicated person delivered the first aid to Lekso Lashkarava.
On July 18, the Interior Ministry reported that allegedly a person had been arrested for selling heroin to Lashkarava.
Media representatives, activists, non-governmental organizations, and the political opposition believe that the government is trying to avoid responsibility through an overdose version. In response to critical questions, Georgian Dream officials accuse the media of "speculating on the dead."
The so-called interim conclusion is surrounded with mist is not publicly available document so far. Experts and doctors agree that it is impossible to make sound conclusions based on the information spread or developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Shortly after the announcement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the representatives of the Georgian Dream started to back the version. The chairman of the ruling party, Irakli Kobakhidze, said on July 12 that "the public already knows what was going on." On July 14, Culture Minister Tea Tsulukiani said: "the victim came a few days later, but whether he was a victim of [violence], I think he was not."
Trolls and bots as a lifeline for the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Hours before the release of the initial version of the MIA, Lashkarava's death was linked to drugs by pro-government and anti-Western media outlets and Facebook pages. The spread posts and messages are obviously aimed at discrediting the deceased.
According to Myth Detector monitoring, the main messages were that Lashkarava was a drug user, and that his death appealed to the National Movement, NGOs and journalists.
Alt-Info presenters affiliated with Levan Vasadze's party, who themselves participated in and organized the violent July 5 plot, spread conspiracy theories about Lashkarava's death and blamed liberals and the West for his death.
In addition, the personal information of the deceased was spread on the social network, to which the State Inspector's Office also drew attention. The agency says that this information is disseminated by individuals who most likely should not have access to either criminal or administrative case materials or to law enforcement-owned databases where the data may be stored, if true/accurate. The Office of the State Inspector has begun an investigation into how this data became known to various individuals.
For access to a wider audience, the Interior Ministry sponsored two videos on Lashkarava, one of them twice, for which it paid up to $700. It is noteworthy that in 2021 the agency advertised a total of 7 posts and 3 of them on Lashkarava.
What Time was Spend on Examining High-profile Cases
The so-called “interim conclusion” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs raises a number of questions. First of all, what is this document and why the agency does not make it public.
As a rule, in case of other high-profile criminal cases, the Ministry of Internal Affairs refrains from talking about expertise and does not talk about conclusions. Given the high public interest, it makes conclusions public.
It takes about a month to prepare a forensic examination conclusions. When conducting additional studies, the term may be extended. The examination information on the Giorgi Shakarashvili's murder case took three weeks before publicizing. Almost four months have passed since the death of Megi Bakradze, a nurse from Akhaltsikhe, and the conclusion is still unknown.
Dr. Vakhtang Kaloyan notes that the medical examination procedures do not include interim conclusion. Also, making preliminary assessments within 48 hours has nothing to do with medicine.
I can neither argue nor deny it. Narcotics may be the cause of death of this young man. But from a professional point of view, proving something in the first few hours is nonsense. Anyone who has a bit of a connection with pharmacology, with medicine, will all confirm that it is impossible to make a relevant conclusion in one day.
The expert says that now the results of the laboratory examination are awaited, which should be followed by the expertise of narrow-profile specialists. After the obtained information, it will be possible to determine the cause of Lashkarava's death.
In an interview with Netgazeti, narcologist Zura Sikharulidze said: "At the moment, the details made public by the Ministry of Internal Affairs do not allow anyone to say the exact cause of death. Until there are quantities provided and until it is clear what changes have taken place in the body after death, no one can say anything."
The Traits of Autocratic Society
The case has been followed at the international level. The US State Department spokeswoman Ned Price said the violence, which has already resulted in the death of one person, must be stopped.
The version maintained by the Georgian Dream is regarded with skepticism abroad. Former US Ambassador to Georgia William Courtney says such allegations characterize autocratic societies.
Autocratic societies often use false accusations of drug against people opposing them. I can recall one example from Moscow, where an investigative journalist, Ivan Golunov, was charged with drug use. Several newspapers then defended the journalist and he was released. This is not the activity we expect from Georgia. The West views Georgia as developing democracy, and such behavior is characteristic of autocratic governments.
US Senator Jim Risch spoke about the current events in Georgia at a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The senator linked Lashkarava's death to the beating.
"I am increasingly concerned by Georgia’s setbacks. More than 50 journalists have been beaten and one injured in recent weeks. Several judges have been transferred to the Supreme Court against the April 19 agreement. I know Senator Shaheen shares my concern. We have had a number of discussions on this issue,” - he said.
Unpunished organizers of violence against Lekso Lashkarava
27 participants of the July 5 violent counter-demonstration have been arrested. Among these, five were directly connected to the case of beating Lashkarava. It is known that more than 20 people assaulted Lashkarava.
The investigation says nothing about the organizers despite numerous video footage of how specific individuals planned the attacks and displacements.
Alt-Info financier Konstantine Morgoshia called on the people on Rustaveli Avenue to separate 500-600 people and go to the office of civil movement Shame next to the Parliament building. This is exactly the location that the mob was trying to enter, where the TV Pirveli filming crew, Lexo Lashkarava and Miranda Baghaturia.
On July 16, criminal police searched the homes of some of the participants and organizers of the violent protest. Some were later summoned to the Police Department for questioning. Many believe that these were just the formal activities as, despite the recorded evidence, none of the organizers have been arrested yet.
Guram Palavandishvili and his son, Alexander Palavandishvili, who were directly involved in the July 5 events and threatened journalists, were both questioned. Deacon Spiridon Tskipurishvili was also summoned to the department, who called on the parishioners to resort to violence.
Police questioning applied to the pro-Russian and violent platform Alt-Info presenters: Shota Martinenko, Giorgi Kardava, Zura Makharadze, Irakli Kizilashvili, Konstantine Morgoshia, as well as to the sponsor of this platform Konstantin Morgoshi.
After the interview, all of them left the department. Information on additional investigative activities was no longer announced.
Based on the original article by: Ana Vakhtangadze
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